Independence Day
by AnnaKendrick47
Summary: 8-year-old Sharpay has a diffitult childhood; her father is alcoholic and very violent. But something back then made her life change for better.
1. Trailer

**Humans: stupid people who, rarely, do things right**

_Shows __a 8-year-old blond girl sitting at the porch of her house_

**I was no exception**

_Shows the blond girl looking at her house _

_Flashes to a brunette couple fighting_

_Flashes back to the blond girl sighing_

**I had no friend**

_Shows the blond girl walking into the classroom alone_

_Flashes to the girl sitting at the bench, eating her lunch_

**And my parents weren't the nicest ones**

_Shows the girl walking home_

_Flashes to a brunette woman passed out on the floor_

**So, I had nothing**

_Shows the girl sitting on the couch, watching TV quietly_

_Flashes to a man running out of the house and slamming the door_

**I didn't understand much things that happened in my house**

_Shows the blond stopped by the door watching innocently as her parents yelled at each other_

_Flashes to the girl walking upstairs_

**But… I wasn't alone**

_Shows the girl entering her room and smiling at a brunette girl_

_Flashes to the two playing together_

_Flashes to the two walking to the park_

**In that small city I lived, things changed forever**

_Shows the two girls in the fair, in 4 of July_

_Flashes to the two running home_

_Flashes to the two arriving home and their eyes get wide_

**Follow me in my journey through my difficult childhood**

_Shows the blond smiling _

_Flashes to the brunette smiling_

**Independence Day**


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

That hot morning, I woke up by the sound of my alarm clock. I opened my eyes to see the curtain blocking the sun that was rising in the horizon. I sighed and sat up on my bed. The house was silent that morning, this was a little strange. I got up and walked on my white socks towards my door. Opening the door, I saw my parents' room cleaned, illuminated by the sunlight and my sister's room still closed. I smiled alone and walked over there. I opened the door of my sister's room to find her sleeping on her bed. I walked over there and stood in the front of her bed, shaking her.

"Bella, Bella!" I called. She slowly started moving and mumbling things. As her chocolate brown eyes looked at me, she smiled and sat up as well. I sat by her side smiley.

"Why do you call me 'Bella'?" she asked me. 'Bella' normally was the short of Isabella, but my sister's name was Gabriella. And only I called her Bella.

"I like it. It's the right nickname for you." I told her.

"Okay." She said and sighed. "Where are mommy and daddy?"

"I don't know." I shrugged and stood up, heading to the door. "I think they're out."

"Hmm." She said as she climbed out of the bed. We were both wearing the same nighty. She walked by my side and we stood there, looking at the empty giant mansion for seconds. "_Sharpie_, we have to get dressed for school!" she told me, excited. I smiled bigger and ran towards my room. Normally, we did competitions to see who was the fastest to get dressed. Of course, she always won, 'cause I never knew what to dress.

I just chose my white jeans and my baby pink shirt with my name written in white. I loved that outfit, normally I'd wear it everyday. I combed my hair, put my pink tiara, grabbed my backpack and ran down the stairs. My smiley sister was already there, smiling at me.

"No, today is my turn to wear white jeans!" I told her and crossed my arms.

"We can both wear it." She told me and we walked into the kitchen to have breakfast. She was wearing a purple top and a white jacket that fit the white jeans and she had a purple tiara that matched her almost-black hair.

I grabbed an apple and sat down to eat it as she ate a banana and drank a glass of orange juice. After my apple was half eaten, I stood up and grabbed a glass of water. I never really liked juice or soda.

"_Sharpie_, we have to go!" she said looking at her watch. I finished my water, put the glass in the sink, grabbed my apple and my lunch and we both walked out of the door.

In the walk to school, we both walked hand in hand smiley. The neighbors would give us concerned glares that we ignored. Even though we were different, we were fraternal twin sisters. It was funny, because our mother would buy us the same clothes in different colors. There were some clothes she bought the same, and we didn't care too much about it. Bella and I were really close.

"Where do you think mommy and daddy went?" she asked me.

"I don't know." I said and shrugged. "And Bella?" she looked up at me.

"Yes?"

"Can you stay with me today in school?" I asked her smiley.

"Yes, sure!" she smiled back and we continued walking our way to school. In school, we were the closest friends ever. Bella would sit by my side when possible and we would talk nonstop. That town where we lived was small, and people always whispered things about us. I never knew what they were talking about, but it was always something about my parents.

"_Sharpie_, when we get home, can you help me with the homework?" Bella asked me.

"What if there is no homework?" I asked her.

"Then we can sing!" she smiled at me.

"Yes!" I said and we sat down side by side. The teacher, Ms. Norris, walked in smiley as always. We both loved her, she was always kind to us and she talked to everyone. Bella and I were the ones who made the questions in the class, and Ms. Norris would answer them smiley and happily.

When it was recess, Bella and I walked out to the playground with our lunch that our mother had done the night before. We sat down at a colorful bench and we ate and talked while the other kids played.

"_Sharpie_, let's play 'what if'?" Bella asked me.

"Okay, you go first." I smiled at her. She thought for a while and then turned back to me.

"What if one boy told you he liked you?" she said.

"He and I would get married and have a lot of beautiful babies!" I said excitedly. She clapped her hands smiley.

"Your turn." She told me.

"Okay…" I said and thought for a while. "What if that sandwich you're eating was full of insects?" her eyes got wide and she looked at her sandwich.

"Then I'd scream and throw it away the farthest I could!" she told me and I giggled.

We played 'what if' until recess ended and then we went back to the classroom. I loved going to class, even though we didn't have friends, we were always excited and talking a lot. People wouldn't get near to us because they thought we were weird, and because the rumors around the town. Bella and I didn't know about most of them so we believed they weren't truth. Since the city was pretty small, Bella and I went alone to all the places, and we were always happy to do that.

That afternoon, when we came home, we found our parents' car stopped in the garage. Bella opened the door and I came right after her. We walked up the stairs and went to our rooms. When I was about to close the door, I saw my mom running down the stairs and my dad right after her, stumbling. He stopped in the middle of the hall and looked at me. I didn't know what he wanted, so I slowly closed the door and I heard his footsteps go downstairs.

Bella sat on my bed and stared at me with tearful eyes. She dropped her backpack on the ground and stared at me with a hurt look. I hated to see that look on her face, it always made me sad. I sat by her side and told her:

"Don't cry, Bella, mommy will be alright." I told her and put my right arm around her shoulder. She didn't let one single tear roll down her face, she held back the tears and took a deep breath.

"Okay…" she told me.

"I'll go down to grab a glass of juice for you." I told her and stood up. I headed to the door and to the stairs. I walked into the kitchen and smiled at my mother and walked towards her, smiley. "Mommy, mommy, can you do my hair after dinner?" I saw she was crying sitting on the chair. My smiled faded away as my mom had her head low and her head in hands.

"Sure, honey." She said and lifted her head to look at me. Her cheek had a red mark and it looked painful. I didn't have expression on my face as I pulled my mom into a tight hug. I sighed and heard footsteps from the living room. I pulled apart from my mom and looked back to see my dad coming there with a bottle of beer in his hand.

"Sharpay, didn't you see I was talking to your mother?" he asked me. I looked at him, with my unexpressed innocent face as I shook my head. Bella walked down the stairs and stood behind dad. She didn't have expression on her face either as she stared up at him.

"Excuse me, Sharpay." My dad walked towards me, grabbed me by the arm and took me upstairs. Bella looked at me and she didn't dare come up. When dad held me, it was so tight that let a red mark on my arm for a couple of weeks. Tears started filling my eyes as I looked up at him.

"Daddy, let go! It hurts!" I told him. He threw me inside of my room and looked down at me.

"Stay away from your parents' business, hear me?" he asked me. I nodded my head with tears rolling down my face. He saw that and took a step towards me. "Stop crying!" he said grabbed me by behind my neck and wiped my tear away, but more started rolling. "Be strong, Sharpay!" he said. I looked at him with fear as I held my breath, trying to stop my tears.

"Daddy… stop it!" he said while he wiped my tears away so strong that it looked like he wanted to break my bones. He sighed and let go of my. He walked towards his room as I walked down the stairs. I walked into the kitchen to find my sister sitting on my mom's lap, crying softly.

"Mommy, I'm afraid." Bella said looking at my face, seeing the light red marks I had.

"There's no need to." My mom told her. "You girls go back to your room, okay?"

"Okay." Bella said. She walked towards me and we walked to my room. "I'm gonna grab my nighty." She said. She looked better, not too afraid anymore. She walked to her room. I watched, to be sure she'd be okay. She came back a few minutes later with her white nighty in her hand. She walked in and I closed the door.

We put our nighties and laid down on the bed, talking. We were waiting for our mom to call us for dinner. It looked like the house was very quiet today, and I enjoyed it very much.

After dinner, mom was in my room, doing my and Bella's hair. Sometimes we asked her to do this at night so our hair would be good in the morning. I didn't like my blond hair very much, but I loved Bella's. Her brunette waves were perfect and it matched her smiley face. Mom pulled Bella's hair in a ponytail and mine in two pigtails. I loved when mom was combing my hair and she talked to me and Bella. We felt like everything was right, it was the way everything was supposed to be. But it wasn't, since dad drank always more.

"Girls, how I wished our life was like this." Mom sighed.

"What do you mean?" Bella asked and stood in front of us. I was sitting on mom's lap playing with my fingers.

"Calm." Mom sighed again as she caressed Bella's face. "I wished Roger didn't have to hurt me and you girls."

"It's okay, mommy." I told her and she smiled and kissed my cheek.

"I promise you girls, one day you'll have a better life." She told us and smiled. "Come here, Gabby, you can sit on my other leg." She put me on her left leg so Bella could sit on the other. She hugged both of us tight and we took a deep breath, enjoying the moment.

"Hilary!" our dad yelled. We jumped from where we were sitting and looked at the door to see him standing there.

"Let go of them and come here, right now!"

"Roger, calm down." Mom said standing up. I stood behind her, worried about her.

"No! I won't calm down, come here!" he said and grabbed her by the arms and started shaking her back and forth.

"Mommy!" I said, already crying.

"Sharpay, stay out of this!" my dad let go of my mom and walked towards me. I started shaking seeing how tall he was, and thinking how strong he was. He lifted his hand and slapped me across the face. "You and your sister go to sleep. Your mother and I have to talk."

I had my hand on my cheek, and if my hair wasn't pulled in pigtails, it would fly on my face. I looked at him, with tears rolling down my face.

He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. I heard screams through the house and I jumped on my bed, crying.

"_Sharpie_, are you okay?" Bella asked me. She laid on the bed beside me and looked at me.

"Bella, daddy will hurt mommy!" I told her as we heard the screams.

"Mommy told us she'll be alright." Bella told me. She was also crying. The screams became louder and louder. We both hugged and cried under the sheets until we fell asleep.

That morning, things were different. Our parents were still yelling at each other. Or better: my dad was yelling at my mom. Bella and I, that morning, decided to wear our dresses we had the same. When we got ready, we walked into the kitchen, where the battle was happening. We didn't even talk there, trying to make them ignore us.

Since I was only 8 years old, I didn't use make up to cover the red marks on my face. I just ignored it, and when Bella and I left the house, we would forget about the fights in our house. That morning, the glares from our neighbors were more intense, as they stared at the red mark across my cheek.

Bella and I were the closest friends ever. We didn't need a lot of friends to be happy. Of course, Bella was the less shy, she talked to other people more easily. I always feared she would make new friends and leave me, I only had her.

"Good morning girls." Ms. Norris smiled as she saw us entering the class. We smiled back at her. "Sharpay, dear, what happened to your cheek?"

I froze. I didn't know what to say, I was only 8 years old, I didn't want to tell her it was my father who hurt me, I knew he didn't mean to. Bella grabbed my arm and talk for me:

"It's an allergy, Ms. Norris." She told her.

"Oh." Ms. Norris didn't seem convinced. "You know girls, you can tell me anything, right? I'm like your second mother. If there is something wrong, you can come and tell me, okay?" she smiled at us. We nodded smiley and walked towards our seats. We sat down and Bella turned to me.

"Bella, do you think we can tell her?" I asked my twin sister.

"I don't know. I'm afraid." Bella said.

"Me too." I said and sighed. Ms. Norris stood up and started the class. We stopped talking to hear what she had to say.

"Thank you." I said smiling at the young man in front of me. I was in the supermarket buying some milk, brad and cheese mommy told me to.

Bella was at home, doing her homework. I finished early and mommy asked me to do this favor to her. The man, Larry, knew me since I was a baby, and I loved talking to him.

"You're welcome, Ms. Montgomery, how is your sister?" he asked me. I loved it when he called me 'Ms. Montgomery', I felt important.

"She's fine. She couldn't come because she's doing homework." I told him.

"Oh, maybe tomorrow you girls can come visit me." He smiled at me. "Did you hear it? They're going to do a fair here, in 4 of July."

"Really? Will there be clowns and fire eaters?" I asked him.

"I don't know. Maybe some clowns." He told me. "You'll come, won't you?"

"Yes." I told him. "I need to go. Bye Larry!" I smiled and waved at him and got out of the small market, heading home.


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

I opened the door of my house smiley, but my smile soon faded away as soon as I saw dad yelling at mom. They were standing on the door to the living room. I watched them, quietly, not understand a thing that they were talking about. When dad pushed mom into the living room and got in the room after her, I walked towards the kitchen, left the bags on the table and walked towards the living room. I stood on the door, watching with my unexpressed face as dad would yell and hurt mom. I sighed sadly and walked upstairs. I entered Bella's room and she was sitting on the ground, playing with her dolls. I smiled at her and she smiled back at me as soon as she saw me.

"You finished your homework?" I asked her.

"Yes, can you play with me?" she stood up and handed me the blond doll. It was a little ironic, but I was always the blond one.

"Why do I have to be the blond?" I asked.

"Because you're blond." She told me and sat down again. I sat in front of her and looked at the doll, thinking.

"Okay, next time can we change?" I asked.

"Okay." She said. We played until after dinner, then mom told us to go to sleep. Tomorrow was Saturday, it meant the screams would get louder and the fights would get more intense. Bella and I never stayed home in weekends, 'cause we felt like we were in their way, so we let mom alone. She was always okay when we came back, so we didn't need to worry.

That night, Bella and I slept in her room. She always asked mom why we had separated rooms, but mom never really gave us the answer, 'cause dad would get in the room and start yelling at her.

When morning came, I woke up first, got dressed and went down to the kitchen. I found mom sitting on a chair, almost crying. She had a red and almost purple cheek. I hugged her tight and we heard dad coming. I looked behind and I didn't see anything. I looked back at my mom, she looked tired.

"It's okay, sweetie. Your dad stopped drinking." She smiled at me. I knew it wasn't truth, because if her cheek was almost purple, then dad was still drinking. I wanted to ask her this, but I chose to stay quiet. "You and Gabby should go out to play. In the park."

I nodded and Bella walked into the kitchen. Mom told her to go out with me. Bella took my hand and we walked out of the house. When we were in the sidewalk, I looked back at the house and sighed. Bella and I didn't talk that day, we went straight to the park. There, we played happily and talked, suddenly forgetting everything about our house.

We saw some women with their children, they looked at us and whispered between them. Bella and I ignored them 'cause we were too young to understand what they were talking about, and we were too young to worry about it.

"_Sharpie_?" Bella asked, when we were on the swings.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Promise you won't grow up and leave me?" she said.

"I promise. Promise we won't hate each other, never?" I asked her.

"I promise." Bella smiled and we stood swinging back and forth for a long time.

When it was almost time for lunch, it started raining. Bella and I laughed hard as we ran back home. We were starving, but still having fun. It was so good to be a child, but it was so bad to be a child in the middle of a fight.

I opened the door, I was hugging Bella, and she couldn't stop sneezing. She always was the most vulnerable to get colds. But normally when we got home, she would get dry and she would feel better.

"Girls, how was the park?" mom asked smiley on the hallway.

"It was funny." Bella said smiley.

"Oh, you should take a shower." Mom said. "Come on, let's go quickly."

Mom took our hands and took us upstairs, to my bathroom.

"Mommy, where's daddy?" I asked her.

"He's out." She told us.

"Mommy, when will he stop hurting us?" Bella asked. Mom stopped and turned to us. She knelt down to our level and looked into our brown eyes.

"Girls, I promise, someday, it'll be our independence day, okay?" mom asked. I didn't understand what she was saying, I just nodded. "You girls won't have to suffer any longer." She sighed. "Now, time to take a shower!"

After the shower, we had lunch, happily. It was always fun when dad wasn't around. Mom was funnier and the house seemed more beautiful. Dad was keeping us from being happy.

"Hilary, are the girls back yet?" we heard our dad come in by the front door. He stepped into the kitchen and heard our giggles. "What are you girls laughing about?"

"Nothing, Roger, I told them a joke." Mom said.

"About me, wasn't it?" dad said. He walked towards Bella and grabbed her by the arm, Bella stood up as he held her tight. "Gabriella, tell me: why were you girls giggling?" he asked. Bella stood quiet. Dad shook her holding her by both arms.

"What was so funny?" he asked louder.

"It… wasn't about you, daddy." Bella said, starting to cry.

"Roger, leave her alone!" mom stood up.

"That wasn't my question!" dad said and slapped Bella's face. She held her cheek with tears in her eyes. I hugged her and we hid under the table as mom started yelling at him and he, at mom.

Bella and I stood there, watching their fight, unable to do anything. We hugged each other as we tried to hear the terrible words our parents were yelling at each other. I wondered why our mom tried to stand against him, I mean, she could just get divorced and run away. This was something I never understood.

Dad yelled one last thing at mom and then he got out of the house. Mom was crying on her knees on the ground. One thing that surprised me about my mom was that she never faced the other sides of her problems; to this problem, there were a lot of solutions: she could tell the police, she could get a divorce, she could run away, but no. I thought she did this for honor.

"Mommy…" I started. I pulled her into a tight hug and when I let go of her, I grabbed Bella's hand and we walked upstairs. It was so 'heavy' for us to carry that burden. I mean, dad didn't hurt us as bad as he could, but he hurt mom with his words. And Bella and I stood in the middle of the fight, we would just sigh and never _really_ talk about that.

"Sharpie, I'm afraid." Bella said. "What will daddy do when he comes back?"

"I don't know." I confessed. "I'm afraid too." I had tears almost rolling down my face as she hugged me.

Bella and I decided, after some time, to grab our dolls and go play downstairs, so we wouldn't leave mom alone. We went to the living room, and we played on the ground as mom sat on the couch, watching us. When we played, Bella and I were free girls, we lived with mom in a city away from that city. We had the dog we always dreamed of, and dad didn't hurt us.

We were so happy playing that we didn't hear when dad returned. I looked at him and he didn't look sober at all.

"Girls, get out of…" he stopped. He looked at Bella and she was singing a song, happily. She didn't notice he was there, it was one of the things she did. She would play and play and ignore people around us. "Gabriella, stop singing." Dad said. Bella didn't stop, she was playing with the blond Barbie on the floor, like the doll was singing in a show.

"Gabby…" mom said, but was cut off by dad:

"Hilary, can you make this daughter of yours quiet!" he yelled and grabbed mom by the arms. He took her out of the room and we could only hear the screams. Bella started crying lightly as she tried to fight the tears.

"It's my fault." She said, quietly.

"No, it's not." I said. "Daddy is a crazy cold man."

"But I didn't hear him asking me to stop." She cried. I put my arm around her shoulder and sighed.

"I wanna go to my room."

"Alone?" I asked. That was really rare when she asked to be alone, because we were always together. We didn't have any friend and we didn't talk to anyone. I hated to be alone.

"Yes." She rubbed her eyes and stood up. She headed upstairs as I stood there, alone. I sighed sadly and went out of the house and sat down at the front porch. I was looking at the street, the small city all illuminated and decorated, people were waiting anxiously for 4th of July. I liked it, normally. Mom would take us to the city, where everyone was and celebrated. It was the fist year they would make a fair here, and it made me really excited.

I looked back at my house, thinking about my life. There was a lot I wished I could leave, but I loved my mom with all my heart and I couldn't leave her and Bella alone with dad. Dad never really hurt us, he just slapped when he was drunk enough to do so. I laid my chin on my hands and looked at my feet. Then it hit me; Bella and I had only two or three weeks of school ahead, and then summer. I hated summer because we didn't have anything to do, and we had to stay home and hear dad take control and hurt mom in every possible way. It hurt me I felt like I was in the way, and there was nothing I could do to stop.

Not having friends was something horrible. I didn't have a house to go, or a place to escape. My uncle died before I was born, in a car accident, my grandparents were no longer alive, and my dad didn't have siblings, he was an only child. The only thing I liked about my life was the city where we lived, it was really small, and traditional. It seemed like those old cities from the 80's.

I decided I could go for a walk. I started walking towards the park, looking around. Until I started looking at my feet and I hit someone in front of me. I looked up to see a little boy, with beautiful blue eyes and blondish hair stopped there, his back facing me. He turned around when he felt someone hitting him.

"Sorry." I said.

"It's okay." He smiled. "Hi, I'm Troy."

"I'm Sharpay." I said. I never really met new people, because here there was no one new, and I never talked to anyone. "Do you live here?"

"No, I'm visiting my aunt." He said. "And you?"

"Yes." I said, but I left the part where my dad was an alcoholic and my mom was his victim.

"What happened to your face?" he asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. It's an allergy." I told him. "So, until when will you stay here?"

Normally, people didn't like to talk to us because of the rumors around the city. I think, since he was just visiting his aunt, he didn't hear about anything, thank God.

"We'll spend just 4th of July here." he said.

"Don't you have school?" I asked.

"No, my school ended early." He said.

"Troy, come in, sweetie, your aunt wants you to…" a woman walked out the house and towards us. She stopped talking and smiled at me. "Hi, sweetie, what's your name?"

"Sharpay." I told her.

"Nice to know Troy made a friend here." she smiled at me again and I smiled back.

"_Sharpie_!" I heard my sister yell. She was running towards us. Our house wasn't even far, but it felt like it was, because of the weather. "_Sharpie_, where were you?"

"Walking around." I said. "Bella, this is Troy." I introduced her to him. They both smiled. "Troy, this is my sister, Gabriella."

"Hi." He said. Bella and I looked 2 years younger than we were, this was strange. We took long to grow up, and Bella hated that. Not that being 8 was amazing, but for Bella, it was like she would never grow up.

"_Sharpie_, can we go to the park?" Bella asked me. "Troy could go with us."

"Yes." I smiled at her then at Troy. He looked up at his mother and she nodded.

"Would you guys mind if Troy's aunt came with you guys?" She said.

"No, of course not." Bella smiled.

"Okay then. I'll go tell her." The woman got back in the house and then a woman who looked like her came. She was our neighbor, I knew her. She was really kind, we talked to her when we met her on the streets or any other place.

"Hey, you girls are Gabriella and Sharpay, right?" she asked us.

"Yep, and you are Janet, right?" I asked her. She nodded her head smiley and we started walking towards the park. Janet was really kind, but she stared at us worriedly, like she wanted to ask us if we were okay.

"Girls, how is your mom?" she asked.

"She is fine." Bella said, not in an excited way.

"But she could be better." I completed. Bella looked at me and we sighed.

"What?" Troy asked, confused. Janet just giggled, trying to make the conversation less tense.

"Nothing, buddy." She told him.

We got in the park and we played and played. I was on the swings, swinging not like I meant to, because that day I was a little sad. Neither Bella nor Troy noticed that. Janet did, instead, and she sat on the swing next to mine.

"Sharpay, if I may say, I heard about your dad." She told me. "I talked to your mom last Friday, and she seemed alright about it."

"Mommy is proud." I said.

"What? What do you mean?" I asked.

"Mommy won't tell the police, because she is too proud." I told her. "She doesn't want to."

"No, maybe she's just afraid of him. Maybe you're young to understand, but it's hard for her."

I turned my face to look at her. Her eyes had a comfortable look, it made me feel better. I smiled and sighed.

"You'll see. Someday, she'll have enough courage to tell the police." She said.

"I hope so."

"Now, why don't you go play, sweetie?" she asked me.

"I don't know. I don't feel like playing." I said.

"Come on, it'll make you feel better." She said and started tickling my stomach. I laughed and jumped from the swing I was sitting on. I laughed and ran away from her, still laughing. I played with Bella and Troy until we had to go home. It really made me feel better.

When Bella and I were heading home, she took my hand in hers and I looked up at her. She smiled at me, and I smiled back. I didn't want to be mad at her, I also needed my moments alone. I jus shrugged it off and we went home happily.

Bella and I went straight to my room and she sat down on my bed. I sighed and thought about what we could do. I loved to play with Bella, but we played so much today, that I wanted to do something different.

"_Sharpie_, let's sing a song!" Bella said excitedly.

"What song?"

"Uh…" She put her finger on her chin, thinking. "That song mommy sang to us! When she tucked us in, remember?"

"Bella, it's called lullaby." I said.

"Whatever, let's sing?" She asked. Instead of answering, I started singing the lullaby. It was the only lullaby mom sang. But when dad started drinking, she stopped because he would get mad at her.

"Girls, girls, come here!" mom said with tears rolling down her face. We stopped singing and walked over her. She grabbed Bella by the arm and ran downstairs. I ran after her, asking what she was doing.

When she opened the door and walked towards our car, I was still on the porch, and dad grabbed me by the arm and covered my mouth with his hand. I tried to take his hand off of my mouth, but he was too strong. Mom started the car, and without looking back at house, she drove off. When her car wasn't visible anymore, dad slowly put his hand down and looked at me. For the first time, he was sober.

"Your mommy left you here." my eyes started filling with tears.

"She'll come back." I said.

"No, she won't. Do you think she would want to come back to this house to pick _you_ up?" he asked. When I thought better about this, she wouldn't want to come back to dad, even to save me. I started crying as I yelled:

"Mommy! Mommy!"

"Shut up!" Dad took me inside and closed the door. I moved my arms and legs like crazy, crying really loud. Dad walked into the kitchen and put me on the table. He grabbed my arms and looked at me. "Listen here: from now on it's just you and me, okay!"

"Daddy…" I started.

"Don't call me that! Do you think I really wanted your mom to get pregnant of you and Gabriella?" he said. I didn't know what he was talking about, so I stayed quiet. "Do you think she wanted it?"

"Mommy loves us."

"Oh, shut up." He said and picked me up. I wanted to ask what he was going to do. I started crying loudly, like a child. Well, I was a child, but like a 3-year-old girl.

"I want mommy!" I repeated, crying loudly. Dad walked upstairs, slowly. I didn't know where to, but he just kept walking.

After some long minutes of my crying, my throat was tired, my eyes didn't have tears to cry anymore, but I just kept on screaming and asking for my mom. I was scared the hell out of me for being alone with my father at home.

"Stop crying, damn it!" he yelled. I stopped crying immediately and looked at him, my tears still rolling down my cheek.

"Why are you mean?" I asked him. He ignored my question and put me down in front of my room. I looked up at him and looked at the stairs. When I gave a step towards there, he grabbed my arm and I looked up at him.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked me.

"I wanna see when mommy is coming back." I told him. He just shrugged it off. I walked down the stairs and stayed sitting on the porch. I looked at the streets, where normally no car would pass. And that time wasn't different. My mom didn't come back that night.

A few days went by, and my hope of my mom coming back was gone. It hurt me that maybe Bella didn't tell her I wasn't there, or even that she didn't notice; or the worst: she was scared to come back.

School was almost over, and I was alone. I didn't speak literally a _word_ since mom left with Bella, the only one who heard me speak was Troy, my new friend. I'd visit him and play with him very often. That made me really better. His mother asked a few times where my sister was, and I said she was sick. I don't know if she believed, but that was my only excuse. Troy really made me feel much better, and with him, I would play like I was the happiest child in the world. I was quiet, but he didn't ask me to talk to him, we would just play in the park, ride our bikes, and stuff like that. Both of us didn't talk usually.

I was playing with Troy in his backyard. We were both running around, and I finally said some words. That made me feel really great. We decided to go to the park, and his aunt would take us. We were in our way when I heard a car coming from the other side of the street. I looked back and saw it was my mom's car parking in the garage in my house. My eyes got wide as I saw my brunette mom stepping out of the car, and my fraternal twin sister walking out as well. They saw me, I looked back at Troy and only said:

"I have to go, see you later." He smiled and nodded. I started running in their direction, the fastest I could. My mom stepped in the sidewalk and ran towards me. She hugged me and picked me up, crying. I hugged her tightly.

"Sharpay…" she said in a sigh. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Mommy, I missed you." I smiled at her.

"Me too, I'm so sorry for leaving you with your father for so long." She hugged me again. "I don't know what I was thinking. I didn't notice you were gone, until Gabby started telling me you stayed there." She explained. That seemed like incomplete, but I just shrugged it off. I was happy she was back. "I promise, sweetie, I won't runaway again." I hugged her again and we sighed. She put me down and there stood Bella, smiley like always. I hugged her tight, and I felt better than I ever did. Now, I could sit in a house hearing mom scream and cry that I'd feel almost good. At least my mom was back, and I learned that she had courage to run away, but I doubted dad wouldn't yell and be mad at her for running away like that.


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

That morning, Bella and I went to school happier than ever. We walked hand in hand smiley and we talked all the way. Normally we wouldn't talk that much, but we were happy to have each other back. Since school was almost over, the teacher started teaching us the national anthem, like the last year's teacher taught us. We were kids, it was hard to memorize, but for Bella and I, who loved to sing, it was easy. And we also did drawings and drew the national flag to put around the school. I drew very beautifully, both Bella and I, but it wasn't our passion.

That day in school, it wasn't different. We sang the national anthem and drew as well. Tomorrow it would be the last day of school, and then in two weeks it was 4th of July. I was drawing the national flag, since I liked to draw. Bella was in front of me, singing as she drew.

"Bella?" I asked and lifted my eyes to look at her and she did the same.

"What?" she asked.

"Why didn't mommy come back soon?" I asked.

"I don't know." Bella shook her head with a sad look and she looked down. "I wanna be free. I don't want daddy to control us anymore."

"Me too." I said. "I want a daddy that loves us, just like mommy does."

"Yes." Bella and I sighed.

When the school ended, we both walked home hand in hand, smiley as always. When we walked into the house, it was silent, for our surprise. We walked upstairs and found mom lying on the floor, passed out. My eyes went wide and I knelt beside her, on her other side, there was Bella.

"Mommy! Mommy!" I said.

"Mommy, are you okay?" Bella asked.

"Girls!" our father's voice echoed. We both turned our heads to look at him. He had a bottle of some alcoholic drink I didn't know in his hand and he looked angry. "Let go of her."

"But daddy…" I started, standing up. He shut me up by pushing me onto the ground.

"_Sharpie_!" Bella said and walked towards me. Dad grabbed her by the arm and didn't let her go. "Daddy, it hurts." He pushed her to the opposite way and walked towards me. He stood in front of me and I had a scared face, hoping mom would wake up and save me from him. Dad grabbed me by both arms and lifted me from the ground. He started shaking me and yelling at me as Bella held his leg, trying to stop him. I closed my eyes and prayed for him to stop.

"Look at me, Sharpay!" He said and I opened my eyes and looked at him. "I'll go to the bar drink something, and when I'm back, you and your sister better be in bed, otherwise, I'll hurt both of you."

"But daddy, what about dinner?" I asked him.

"Forget about dinner." He said.

Bella knelt down on the ground, closed her eyes and started praying, loudly. Dad let go of me and looked back at her, he couldn't stand when we sang, prayed or talked to him. He started walking towards her. He was going to hurt her, I could feel it. It took all my courage, but I jumped on him and yelled 'no' many times. Bella's eyes got wide and she stood up, taking a lot of steps back. Dad yelled, I let go of him and his elbow hit the right side of my face. I covered my injured face and cried and looked up at him.

"Go to your room!" he said. My mouth opened and I started shaking, in fear. "GO TO YOUR ROOM!" He yelled louder than he ever did to mom. I ran towards my room and Bella ran after me. I hid under my desk and watched as Bella was entering my room. Dad grabbed her by the ankle and she fell down.

"No, _Sharpie_!" she yelled, crying. He pulled her out of the room and I closed my eyes. I heard her. I heard her pain. I heard her screams, her begging, her crying. I felt it on my skin; all the pain she went through. And I tried my hardest to stand up and help my twin.

I opened my eyes, and the fight was still happening, so I stood up and ran towards them, crying my soul out.

"DADDY, STOP!" I yelled with all my strength. Dad let go of Bella and looked at me. He grabbed me by the hair and hit my face on the wall. I yelled. He hit again, and again and again. I yelled, kicked the air and moved my arms trying to catch him. When he stopped, I fell onto the ground and I saw mom there, crying, looking weak, as she asked dad why he was doing that. My world went black after that.

When I woke up, I saw mom's sweet smile. My head and my body hurt, and I could barely move. I looked at my side and saw Bella looking at me. She had purple marks all around her.

"Mommy… it hurts." I said.

"I know, sweetie, I'm so sorry, it's all my fault!" Mom said and she started crying. "I called the doctor, he's coming."

"What about daddy?" Bella asked.

"Your dad is away, he'll spend the night away." She said.

"Where is he?" I asked.

"Away." She caressed my face, and I knew this meant somewhere I couldn't know. I sighed and looked at the ceiling. All I wanted was this life to end. I felt tears rolling down my face and I let them roll. I was hurt, inside and out, and my mom wouldn't stop it, even though she wanted.

"Girls, in some day's it'll be Independence Day!" she said.

"Really?" Bella asked. I knew mom let us home after all that happened, and we didn't go in the last day of school. We stayed home for a couple of days and there was only about ten days to the 4th of July.

"Yes." Mom said. "I promise girls, you'll live better from now on. I just want you to know that I love you girls, so much, with all my heart."

"We love you too, mommy." Bella and I said in union and we tried to smile.

After the doctor left, we had dinner. Mom did a soup for us three and dad didn't come back that night. I felt a little better knowing I wouldn't have to face dad anymore that night or the next day.

The next morning, dad wasn't there, and it felt great, even though mom didn't let us go out of bed. Bella and I stood quiet, we didn't talk, because it hurt too much.

Mom entered the house that morning with our breakfast as she seemed better. We had breakfast and mom told us stories about when she was little, and what she did on Independence Day. I asked her if the fireworks were the same, she answered my question and she seemed happy.

"Mommy, will you take us to the fair?" I asked, excited.

"Maybe." She smiled and I sat up. "Listen girls, I'm sorry that your father is so cruel and heartless, I wish I could be courageous enough to stop him."

We stared at her as she spoke. She almost put her hand in hands and started crying, but she held back the tears and lifted her head, putting her hands away from her face.

I loved my mom, with all my heart, but I hated this about her. She was a coward, and she couldn't tell this to anyone. She didn't have friends on the city, so it made things more difficult. I wished we could move, to another city.

"Mommy, can we run away?" I asked.

"I'm so afraid of forgetting one of you girls along the way. I promised myself I wouldn't runaway anymore." She said.

"But mommy, daddy's not here!" Bella said.

"And he hurts us!" I said and crossed my arms.

"I know…" she said and looked down. "I'm sorry girls."

I looked at the window, saw the sun slowly disappearing in the horizon. I wished mom would stop being such a coward and stand against dad, so he would burn in hell and we would live happily every after. I watched the sunset until it started getting dark and mom started calling me.

"Sharpay?" she said and I looked at her. "Don't be mad at me. I promise, this 4th of July will be different."

"How?" I asked.

"Just different." She said and sighed. I sighed also. I felt frustrated. I had no friend and I couldn't leave the house. If dad was here, it would be the worse of my nightmares. But mom was there, holding my and Bella's hand, telling us something would change. I hope she was talking about going to the police and report about dad.

Bella and I went to the park during the morning, and we only came back when we were starving. We played with Troy during the afternoon and we invited him to go to our house and mom did some cookies. These days, I was feeling better, but something inside of me was telling me that something bad was coming. And I didn't know what.

"Guys! Three days to 4th of July!" Mom said as she grabbed another cookie to eat. "Troy, will your family do something?"

"We'll just go to the fair." Troy said.

"That's cool. I wanna go there as well. It's the first year of the fair after all." Mom said.

"Mommy, could we go with Troy's family?" I asked.

"Sure." Mom said. "Now, guys you can go play outside while I clean the kitchen, okay?"

"Okay." Bella said and we all stood up, heading to the backyard. Even though he didn't ask, I could see Troy was worried about our bruises, and about my purple face. I would tell him if he asked, because I hated my dad, and I just wanted him to burn in hell and die in jail.

We played catch outside until it got dark and Troy had to go home. Bella, mom and I went to the door and watched as he walked back home. Mom had her hand on my and Bella's shoulder as we waved at Troy. I wonder if he knew about us by now, if his aunt had told him.

"I'm so happy you girls made a friend." Mom said.

"Yes." Bella said. "He is funny."

"Yeah, he is." I agreed.

"Come on, girls, let's go inside." Mom said and we went into the house and mom closed the door. We went to the living room to watch TV. Mom hugged Bella and I and we felt in a way we never felt, because dad would stop us from being happy.

"Mommy, daddy won't come back, will he?" I asked.

"No sweetie." Mom said. "He won't." mom kissed our foreheads and I slowly started falling asleep. I was feeling awesome, even though my eyes looked like grape, and they hurt like hell. My dream was coming true: I lived only with my mom and my twin sister. It was my only wish.

* * *

_A/N: First of all I want to thank the ones who reviewed and told me their opinions. A lot of people said they didn't like Sharpay and Bella's father... well, he'll get what he deserves. The following chapters will be the grown up Sharpay, and the big surprise will happen ;) thanks again!_

_Julia :D_


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

I open my eyes to see the sun already hitting my face. It's a beautiful hot day, all I want to do is go outside and play. I stand up from my bed and smile with myself as I get dressed. Today is 4th of July, so I chose red shorts and a white blouse. Bella would choose her blue shorts, which mom bought the same specially to this day, and her blouse equal to mine. I combed my hair and walked downstairs to have breakfast. I had my breakfast alone, until Bella entered the room looking like a brunette version of me, and sits down to eat with me.

"Today is going to be wonderful!" she said and sat down.

"Yes, mommy will take us to the fair!" I said. "And we'll meet Troy there!"

"Yes." Bella said. "It'll be awesome."

I sighed and looked out of the window. I'm so happy dad is not here, he'd make our day a nightmare and mom would suffer in a day she was supposed to celebrate. The streets are empty, like it normally is, and I'm anxious to go outside and celebrate.

When Bella and I finished breakfast, we left to play. Moments later, mom went there smiley, and asked what we were doing. I smiled and told her we were singing.

"Mommy, let's sing 'Amazing Grace'! You love that one!" Bella said.

Mom sat on the grass while Bella and I walked around her, we three sang happily, the way we couldn't when dad was home. I really hoped he had died.

_"Through many dangers, toils and snares _  
_I have already come _  
_'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far _  
_and Grace will lead me home"_

We finished from that part. Bella and I sat in front of mom and she caressed our faces, smiling. I loved her face, her eyes were equal to mine and Bella's, they held so much emotion that could easily be read. Mom was so strong and coward at the same time. But now, that dad wasn't home, she proved me she was strong, 'cause she stood against him and he left.

"Mommy, did daddy die?" Bella asked.

"I don't think so, sweetie."

"He's not in hell?" I asked.

"No, but he'll be." She said and sighed. "Oh!" she said and searched for something in her pocket. She gave Bella and me two photos, the same photo; of us three, that we took a couple of weeks ago, and two letters. The bruises still seemed very bad, but we looked happy. "Don't _ever_ forget I love you girls more than anything in the whole world." Tears formed in her eyes and she pulled us in a tight hug. When we pulled apart, she wiped away her tears and I noticed she had a new bruise on her cheek.

"Mommy, where did this bruise come from?" Bella asked pointing her cheek.

"Oh, this is nothing." She said rubbing her cheek. "You girls go to the fair, okay?"

"What about you?" Bella asked.

"I'll go in a minute." She said smiling weakly.

We stood up and went into the house, heading to the front door. Mom smiled at us from the door and watched as Bella and I left to the fair. We were so excited, we never went to a fair before, we didn't know how it was.

"Do you think daddy really left?" Bella asked.

"I don't know." I said. "I just want him to burn in hell forever."

"Me too." Bella said and took my hand and we walked faster.

Getting there, we met Troy's entire family, and they stayed with us during the fair. The city was so beautiful, it was all white, red and blue. I've never seen something like this before.

"Come on, guys, it's time for the parade!" Troy's aunt said and took our hands. We walked faster, trying to make our way through the crowd. We had bought popcorn for us and we were enjoying it very much.

Bella, Troy and I were in the front of everyone, watching as people dressed as presidents walked by, waving at everyone. I smiled, wishing my mom was there to watch that. The national anthem started playing and everybody sang. Bella took my hand and we smiled at each other, singing. The clowns, my favorite part, came closer as the crowd sang.

There were about three or four clowns. One of them, dressed in yellow was pretending to hit the other, dressed in red, and they were pretending to be punching each other, and shaking them as the crowd laughed. I started feeling something very bad inside of me. I couldn't stand looking at that, it remembered me of mom and Bella when dad was home. I looked at the sides with the corner of my eyes to see if anyone had noticed that. Troy's family was laughing. Bella looked at me and we were both thinking the same think: that was the truth; dad didn't leave, he came always when we left, so mom would think we lived happily.

I turned on my back and Bella and I started running, tears started forming in our eyes as we thought about mom, alone at home. This time, Bella didn't take my hand, and we ran the fastest we could, leaving Troy and his family laughing alone, wondering where we were going.

When we were on our street, we saw a terrible fire burning a house down. Yes, it was _my_ house. We stepped into the garden and watched as the firemen put out the flames, that were still big.

"Mommy!" Bella and I called. "Mommy!"

We were about to run into the house, when a man dressed in a suit stopped us.

"Girls, girls! Your parents died in the fire, I'm so sorry." He knelt on our level and tried to stop us, putting his hand on our waists, so we couldn't run away. I put my hands on his shoulders, trying to let him go of me, but he was too strong.

"Mommy!" I kept yelling, ignoring him.

Another man came, also dressed in a suite. He stopped in front of Bella and held her by the arm.

"Let's take them from here, they're in shock." He said.

"Mommy!" I insisted, tears rolling down my face. My mom wasn't dead, she was strong, she _wasn't_ dead! I slowly stopped screaming and just watched the fire destroy my house.

They picked us up, seeing we weren't easy going, and took us to police cars. The man holding Bella was going to another car, and I realized I was never going to see her again. I held my arm on her direction as I watched her leave, slowly.

"NO!" I yelled, the loudest I could. The man put me inside the car and started. I opened the window to see my house burning down for the last time, and watch my sister, my twin, go in a different way. My world fell that day, and it was from that day on, that I started hating 4th of July.

* * *

_A/N: Well, here it is :/ I had tears rolling down my face thinking about this and the rest of the story. I feel like giving Sharpay a big comfortable hug, and tell her it'll be alright. There's more coming, and you'll understand it clearly. Bye guys!_

_Julia (this time there's no smiley face, because this chapter let me really sad)_


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

My eyes were traveling around the view of my window. I fell broken. It was like the fire of that 4th of July was still happening. I still had nightmares at night, and sometimes I'd wake up yelling, begging my dad to stop hitting me. And other times I woke up calling my mom.

"Shar?" I heard my brother's voice calling me. I turned my head to face him. He offered me a sweet smile. I didn't smile and turned my head away.

A lovely family, the Evans, adopted me when I was 8. They're very good to me, and they have a son my age, that was born, incredibly, in the same day as me. We're treated as 'the Evans twins', but we aren't twins. I have a twin, my real twin. And her name is Bella. She's walking around the world somewhere, and I need to know where. She's the last piece of my past that's still alive.

"Come on, Shar, we're gonna be late." My brother, Ryan, said.

"I'm going." I told him. He left the room. I sighed sadly. I sat up on my bed, sighed once more. I grabbed my bag and walked out of the house. I looked back at my new house, thinking about my last one. I miss that small city. We moved to Albuquerque years ago, and I lost contact with my past. The only thing I have left is that photo, the letter I didn't read yet, and my scars across my face from the day dad hit my face against the wall.

I entered the car and Ryan started the car. He knew I'm never good. I'm always thinking about my past, and I still don't consider these people my family. I just call them 'mom' and 'dad' so people won't think I'm orphan.

"Shar, I promise you we're gonna find her." Ryan told me and put his hand on my shoulder. I looked at him, I could still feel the pain I felt the weeks my eyes were black.

He sighed and drove off. The ride to school was usually quiet, I'm not the kind of person who talks. I stopped talking since the fire. I swore to myself I wouldn't really _talk_ to anyone until I found my twin. I watched as the town reminded me of my old one. The one I didn't want to leave. I'm still scared as hell of being alone with any man, and when someone raises their voice with me, I get terribly afraid and in cases I start crying or hide myself. That's why my new mom didn't leave me alone with my new dad, even though he wants to get to know me better.

"Shar, we're here." Ryan said as he parked the car. I told them to call me 'Shar' because Bella is the only one who has the rights to call me _Sharpie_, and only she remembers this nickname. That's how I'll know it's her, she'll sure remember my nickname when she calls me.

I walked out of the car beside Ryan towards the school. This never let me happy, nothing let me happy. I wanted to know what really happened to my mother and my twin, 'cause there was no way that fire was accidental. Maybe my dad killed himself and took my mom with him, maybe it was the opposite. All I know is that I'm not resting until I know what happened or until I know where my sister is.

As we two walked into the school, people stared at us. I don't like this sensation, 'cause it feels like I still have my eyes black, and I feel like they're wondering what happened to me. Now, I wonder what there is in that letter mom gave us. I don't think I'll open that soon, because it'll take me so down I won't be able to get up again.

Ryan and I walked into homeroom. I took my seat and looked down, depressed. The teachers never ask me what's wrong, 'cause they know me. Our teacher, Ms. Darbus, enters the class smiley and with a brunette girl behind her. I roll my eyes and look down again.

"Good morning, people! You have two new classmates, their name are Gabriella Montez and Gabriella Thompson." She said. I looked up at the girls, and in the moment our eyes met, one of them stared at me. I just shrug it off and look down again.

Gabriella Montez passed by me and took a seat behind Ryan, while the other Gabriella sat beside me. These names brought me so bad memories I felt like crying my heart out in the middle of homeroom. My twin, Bella may be back in our home town, living with another family. I don't believe she's been taken from that place. I just want to find her.

The classes went by, and soon it was lunchtime. Ryan and I took our usual seats, with the _gang_ they called. It was some guys from the basketball team and some girls from the decathlon team. And for my surprise, that girl, Taylor, brought the Gabriellas with them.

"Hey guys!" Taylor said. "I hope you guys don't mind, I invited the Gabriellas to have lunch with us."

"No problem." One of the guys, Troy, said. After years, Troy and I met and we found out he was the little boy who Bella and I played with when we were younger. He's still funny, and he still remembers my twin.

I grabbed my notebook and I started writing something; something that had been in my mind lately. It's about the past, obviously, 'cause everything I think about is the past. When it happened, and when our 'Independence Day' separated us from our mother. I think dad killed himself and her, because mom reported him to the police. It makes sense.

"So, Gabriellas, why did you guys come here to Albuquerque?" Troy asked her. He's usually the one that talks the most.

"Well… my mom was transferred because of her job." One of the Gabriellas answered. I didn't know wich one, they're both brunette with brown eyes. "She's been being transferred since I remember."

"That must be so boring." Chad, another one from the basketball team, asked her.

"Not much." Gabriella said. "I don't like being in one place for too much time."

"Why?" Taylor asked.

"I'm afraid people will leave me, like everyone I met did." She sighed.

"I'm sorry." Chad said.

"It's okay." Gabriella said, even though it didn't sound true.

"That's not the worse thing that could have happened." I said, not intentionally.

"Excuse me?" she said.

"Your parents could have killed themselves." I told her, finally looking up at her.

"I had my biological parents who died when I was little, and my adoptive father hit his car and died, because he was drunk." She said.

"My parents too. My mother died in a fire and my father ran away, still alive." the other Gabriella said.

"Oh, sorry girls." I said. "I didn't know that."

They sighed. I sigh also and look down again. I don't want to talk to anybody else. Maybe I don't know bad things happen to anyone. I'm too selfish sometimes, I just think about myself and finding my sister. Sometimes I think I should help other people. I don't know, I'm too depressed.

Ryan and I enter the house, I'm looking down like always, thinking about the past. Ryan asks me some stuff and I don't pay attention, I don't know if he knows that.

"Shar, what do you think of the news girls?" Ryan said.

"I don't know, whatever." I said. "Why did you ask?"

"They seem cool. I feel sorry about them, though." He said.

"Yeah. I feel sorry about myself too." I said. I threw myself on my bed and he sat next to my feet.

"Listen, Shar. Why don't we watch a movie so you can feel better?" he asked.

"Sure." I said. He got out of the room and I took a deep breath and followed him. I knew watching a movie wouldn't make things better, 'cause I lost my mother and sister, the only friend I ever had, and how could I find her? There was the whole world to search for her, and even in a million years I wouldn't have searched the whole world. I knew I wouldn't find her.

Sometimes I wonder where is she, and how she looks like. Gosh, it'd be so much easier if we were identical. I wonder if she still remembers me, also, and if she ever thinks about me. I bet she doesn't even remember the nickname I gave her. I changed so much since I was 8 years old. Of course, it's been 10 years, but still.

"Ryan, I'm gonna go back to my room, okay?" I said. The Evans knew I was a depressed girl, and that nothing I did cheered me up, never. Sometimes I liked to act in musicals, in the school, because that was the only thing that kept me alive somehow.

I sat on my bed, grabbed my pink guitar and started playing something that I've written a long time ago.

_"When I lose my faith_  
_I lose my control _  
_And I feel bad _  
_Hopeless _  
_Around me, jealousy makes _  
_People hate themselves _

_I feel alone _  
_But I know I'm not _  
_Because I carry you_  
_ Inside my head _  
_And I feel that someday _  
_I'm gonna find you _  
_Sooner or later_  
_ Sooner or later we're gonna find each other _  
_I'm sure, in a better place _  
_I know when I sing you can hear me"_

I stopped playing, because the tears wouldn't let me. Every word of the song, when I sang, I could see my twin in front of me, smiling at me. That's why I sang, because I could see her. That's exactly how I knew that when I sang, she was listening to me. I didn't know what Bella looked like now, we didn't look alike, at all. Some people said we had the same eyes, and we actually did. Mom's eyes.

* * *

**A/N: hey guys, sorry about the long wait. Here I am, updating all my stories. These last song Sharpay sang, is a song in Portuguese called 'Cedo ou Tarde' (sooner or later) which I tried to translate. Review and say what you think :)**


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